Pez Injures Calf In Friendly

8 February 2003 19:49pm

By

Italy coach John Kirwan's plan to give his side a run a week out from their Six Nations opener against Wales backfired in Treviso with an injury to fly-half Ramiro Pez.

Pez's calf injury opens the door for veteran Diego Dominguez to make himself available. The Argentinian-born goal-kicker pulled out of Italy's opening two Six Nations matches but scored 15 points in his comeback match for Stade Francais today.

Pez isn't the only injury headache for All Black legend Kirwan - centre Paulo Viccari lasted 17 minutes before a hip injury forced him from the field.

'We'll make a decision after a final medical, and of course we could consider to select Diego for the Welsh game,' Kirwan said.

'I thought we perfomed well in scrummaging and in the lineout during the first half but there is a lot of work to do before the Six Nations debut.'

Kirwan surprised fans by selecting brilliant backrower Mauro Bergamasco on the wing, but the move paid dividends, with the rangy flanker scoring a superb long-range try in Italy's 41-36 win over an All Stars XV.

Others to stand out included Gran Parma hooker Carlo Festuccia and lock Christian Bezzi (Viadana), who enjoyed a field-day at lineout time, but the national side were lucky to escape with the win after the referee denied Viadana's New Zealand scrum-half Harley Crane a try in injury-time.

WRU International Skills Coach Jason Strange is a busy man, combining the new role with that of Wales Under 20 attack coach, Ebbw Vale head coach and continuing to teach at Ebbw Fawr Learning Community.

Warren Gatland and Sam Warburton look ahead to this week's crunch RBS 6 Nations tie against France, where the Wales skipper in particular is keen to make his mark, as Paris has proved a bleak place for him in the past.

Following their historic win over England, Wales Under 20 suffered a narrow, 36-34 loss to their Scottish counterparts last weekend, despite outscoring them by five tries to three. Watch the match highlights and reaction.

WRU TV go behind the scenes with the Wales squad as they put the final touches in place ahead of the clash against Scotland at Murrayfield. Follow the squad on their captain's run, the kickers visit to Murrayfield and Neil Jenkins' press conference